Preface

We began this project in the early weeks of February, with a wide range of options about what we could document. At first, I was overwhelmed, but as we read Mary Beth Meehan and Fred Turner’s Seeing Silicon Valley in English class, a specific story stood out to me. It was about a woman named Mary who moved from Africa and lives with her son in Silicon Valley and although she was living in a better home and was with her son she said she constantly felt lonely compared to when she was living in her village back in Africa. She claimed that although living conditions may have been worse in Africa she was constantly surrounded by her community and therefore never felt alone. Whereas in America she felt as if everyone was alone with themselves and the sense of community she had back at home was not found in the States. This story stuck with me because it made me realize that in the world of modern consumerism, people order and review their food with barely an exchange of words, if even, and continue to go on with their lives. That inspired me to make my documentary on the issue of convenience over community. And when I think of community, the first thing that comes into my mind is the Sweet Shop.

The smell of freshly baked cookies and the sound of children laughing flows through the air at the intersection of Loucks and Los Altos Avenue, bringing a smile to everyone’s faces. At the entrance of the Sweet Shop, bright candy welcomes everyone who walks in. Indeed, when life gets dull, a candy shop can always make it sweeter. But that’s not all the Sweet Shop brings. Unlike other mainstream businesses, the Sweet Shop takes the time to develop its connection with the community. Amidst the pandemic and its lasting effects, many small businesses faced the sad realism of getting shut down. Yet, throughout the immense challenges of the pandemic, the Sweet Shop remained an outlier thanks to its community. The neighborhood refused to let the Sweet Shop close, showing the effects of their connection with the people of Los Altos Avenue.

It is often said, “People succeed because of other people.” Indeed, the Sweet Shop’s pandemic survival story exemplifies this belief. The year 2020 brought many challenges to small businesses such as supply chain interruptions, declining demand for products and services, shortages in supplies and inputs, and government-mandated closures. Lydia Depillis, an journalist writing for The New York Times, explains,

“Using tax data from California shows that through the fall of 2020, smaller businesses closed at a significantly higher rate than large ones, increasing the degree of market dominance by larger firms in the state.” That along with the fact that we’ve lost about 65,000 small retailers, despite the population and economy having grown considerably. Shows us that as stated by Stacy Mitchell, author of article Fighting Monopoly Power the Sweet Shop remaining open is not by chance.

So how does a small candy store placed in the middle of a neighborhood foster such a welcoming environment that it allows them to endure so many challenges? And why is that resilience significant to the Los Altos community? The Sweet Shop has been referred to as a “hidden gem” and is essentially everything that is rare in today’s current consumerism.